Nn School Board To See New Faces

Archibald, Oder Choose Not To Run

Newport News School Board member Jananne Archibald will not seek re-election this spring.

Archibald, who learned in September that she has cancer, cited her health as the reason.

"I don't want it to take away any more from my School Board responsibilities," said Archibald, who holds the North District seat. "They need somebody who could be there, and there's a possibility I won't be able to do that here for a while."

Two other board members -- Effie Ashe and Debbie "Dee" Johnston -- will run in the May election.

The four-year terms of all three board members end in June.

Archibald, 49, isn't alone in her decision to leave the board. Citing family and work issues, Mary Oder has also said she will not run again. So there will be at least two new faces on the seven-member school board July 1.

As of late last week, however, no candidates had filed for election. The deadline is early next month.

Archibald is the mother of two girls and three boys who range in age from 19 to 27. She's been married nearly 31 years. She's chairwoman of the board for the New Horizons Education Center and serves on committees involving health and career and technology education.

She's optimistic that others will come forward to run. "I'm really sad right now, but I think it's the wisest choice," she said. "I want people to know it is a wonderful opportunity to serve the children, to learn things about government and to really exercise their voice to make Newport News a better place."

She looks forward to other ways to serve the district, including volunteering at schools or joining committees. She said she's proud to have served on the board -- in particular to see the start of magnet programs and increasing the success of students taking the state's Standards of Learning tests.

Like Archibald, Ashe has served on the board since 1994 -- Newport News' first elected School Board. Before that year, the City Council appointed School Board members.

Ashe, a 70-year-old retired civil-service worker for Fort Eustis, has been chairwoman of the board since 2000. She said she was encouraged to run again for her South District seat by several citizens and formally announced her campaign Monday morning at the Newsome House.

"I do enjoy trying to make education facilities for children better in the public-school system," said Ashe, also a former board vice chairwoman. "I do believe in the public schools. I feel we can always do more with it."

Ashe, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2000, considered her health before running again. Doctors declared her healthy in October 2001. She said she tried to get more rest and had decided to give up some of her other civic activities.

Ashe serves on the board of directors of the Office of Human Affairs, the board of trustees of the C. Waldo Scott Center for Hope and is involved with the Newsome House Foundation.

She has two sons and four grandsons. She recently celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband.

She's a proponent of year-round education and hopes to see more schools -- particularly those performing poorly on tests -- adopt the extended calendar. "Those young people deserve, and need, continuous education in order to bring them up to a level playing field," she said.

Johnston, elected in 1998 to an at-large seat, said she had "absolutely enjoyed" her School Board service. "We've worked well as a team," she said. "We are moving in the right direction."

Johnston, 45, and her husband have two children, one of whom will be graduating from Heritage High School in June. She's a medical technologist at Mary Immaculate Hospital and former president of the city's PTA council.

One of her goals is increased teacher salaries. "Everybody says that," she said, "but I believe we've got to increase the teacher salaries and keep the good teachers in the classroom, rather than losing them to private industry."

Stephanie Barrett can be reached at 247-4740 or by e- mail at sbarrett@dailypress.com